Both maps below show Syria highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Syria about 1.5× at 35°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 185,180 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.5× inflation is why Syria dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Syria on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Syria: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Syria | 185,180 km² | 276,103 km² | 1.5× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Syria at about 276,103 km². The truth is 185,180 km², a difference of 49% that school atlases carried for centuries.